Ever hear of a native Cincinnatian drawn to extremes? Meet senior Emma Scarmack, who hates limits. That's why she works to create underwater dwellings. Originally interested in interior design, she found it too constricting and switched to architecture. Then she met Brian Davies, Associate Professor of Interior Design in UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP). His class in extreme environments was liberating for Emma.

Now she works on aquatic architectural projects. In her spare time, Emma scuba dives, a hobby she discovered as a result of her unconventional class. She says her DAAP studies changed her mindset: "I came to get the big picture. But once I got here, I realized the big picture was bigger than I ever imagined." Her favorite campus structure? The Campus Recreation Center designed by Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne.

Emma considers herself a "granola" type—environmentally conscious. So she'll be a good fit for the world she aims to relocate to after graduation: Seattle, where she did her DAAP co-op work. There, she'll bring her unusual passion to "head into territory where the problems couldn't be solved with answers in a textbook because the book hasn't been written yet."